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Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

So far in the Louisville game, Devin Mesoraco is 5 for 5, raising his average to .322. All scouting reports classify him as a natural leader, and he has no errors on the year. Clearly, this is our catcher of the future.

But this isn't the minor league forum. And what I'm wondering is if, given our current pitching situation, it's reasonable to trade somebody like Hernandez in the middle of the year. He's on a torrid run so far this season (though expected to regress to the mean), he plays a premium position, and he's got both a blocked, capable player behind him and a partner in excellence at the major league level. On paper, he's a perfect trade candidate for obtaining that TOR starter everyone here pines for, and promoting Mesoraco could give us the impact bat that cements our lineup as one of the best in baseball.

What I'm wondering, however, is if he's too important to the Reds to be traded. He's an experienced game-caller, and is essential for interfacing with our Latin American starters and keeping them comfortable on the mound. Both Volquez and Cueto have had confidence issues in the past... how would they deal with a replacement in the middle of the playoff race? And is it a good idea to trade away that veteran leadership as well? In the playoff series last year, the young Reds batters were totally exposed; only the vets had a decent series. You can't underestimate what he brings to this team, even if he doesn't play as regularly as other star catchers. What's more, Mesoraco is unproven in the major leagues, and if he has rookie struggles at the plate, the move could backfire immensely. I'm not saying a move is unfeasible, only very risky.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

I think you answered some of you question. I think he's too valuable to the team right now, especially for the Latin pitchers. I'm sure they (most of them) probably feel more comfortable with Ramon catching.

Also, you are NOT going to get too much for him, especially a TOR starter. Yes, he's on a pretty good pace right now, but, how long will that last?

Mes will be up before too long. I just don't think they should count on him for too much (if any) this year. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts with the Reds next year, and Hernandez is gone via free agency.

-I like the status quo right now.

"It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

I'm not a man of many words. Read my posts, and you'll see what I mean.

Some people are Optimists (They see the glass 1/2 full).
Others are Pessimists (They see the glass 1/2 empty).
Me, I'm a Realist. 1/2 empty IS 1/2 full.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

What a great "problem" to have, right? The Reds have more talent than they have space to accommodate it. That creates leverage in the form of bargaining chips.

To this specific idea, my thought is to leave things be for now. The Reds are riding a winning streak and the clubhouse is a happy place. Even if the Reds were able to acquire a TOR starter for Ramon (plus prospects, because Ramon alone wouldn't be enough) - I'm not sure I want to fiddle with the chemistry. If the Reds had a glaring need for starting pitching right now, then perhaps I'd change my tune. But with how well Cueto and Bailey have thrown the ball, either one of them could fill the role as our TOR starter this year. Or both.

There are other areas to possibly address (LF, SS) but again, unless there is a dire need, and right now there is not, I'd leave things alone.

Despite my stance on this, I am uber excited about the future with Mesoraco.

A flute with no holes is not a flute. A doughnut with no holes is a danish. -- Zen Philosopher Basho

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

I bet the Red Sox wouldn't mind having Mony right now. I know they mentioned something on the ESPN Sun. night game (Rsox/Yankees) and one of the announcers asked one of the other announcers if he thought Boston could get through the yr. w/Saltalamacchia (or however you spell his name) and the announcer (it might have been Oral) said "I don't think so", so I wouldn't doubt they would LOVE to have someone like Ramon. Prob. several other teams that would love to have him as well.

But personally NO WAY do I want to see him traded away, not unless we just absolutely come out so far ahead on the deal that it just could not be passed up. The guy is helping our club immensely right now. Smoking hot bat and as was mentioned above, his being able to interact w/the latin pitchers is invaluable.

Like I said, it would simply have to be one HELL of a trade in our favor before I would personally be for it. His club-house presence/leadership of the team on top of his bat that's probably still smoldering a bit at this very moment he's been so freakin' hot as of late

Sure, Mesoraco is prob. our future, but not this yr. This is another Ramon/Ryan, RH/RH yr.!

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

Not this season, no. Right now, the status quo at the catcher position has been great, just like last season. Look for a trade of one of the two current catchers in the off season and for Mesoraco to take their place in the bigs in 2012.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

If we trade Hernandez, I'm going to flip out. Why would you mess with a good thing? The chemistry on the team right now is awesome, things are going our way (7 unearned runs last night, are you kidding me?), and we should not mess with any aspect of our game. There has also been a lot of talk about what to do with Gomes around here, but I think that he also brings an invaluable aspect to our clubhouse that we just couldn't replace. Leave it alone and let's see where this takes us! If we start falling back, maybe we consider it, but not until we absolutely have to.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

You recieve prospects in return for "hot" veterans. Not TOR starters. Hernandez will not be moved for a prospect. A wining team / playoff contenter won't move a valuable TOR for him. Are people suggesting we trade him for a Minor league or AAAA starter? That would hardly be a TOR guy. I don't understand the logic.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

I personally would look to deal him near the deadline. We'd basically just have to play Mes/Hannigan for a month, before also bringing Miller in September. Obviously Hernandez himself wouldn't bring a TOR, but EV and Ramon Hernandez, and a few other prospects may. Though our 40 seems crowded and we have excellent starting pitching depth right now, we don't have many strong A/AA starters. It may not be bad to have Grandal move up to AAA by mid summer, though I'm not sure how often a catcher would go from A - AAA, but he does have a 916 OPS with 37 K and 27 BB

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

We're buyers, not sellers, and Razor is doing awesome - why trade him? Teams with big time players who are sellers want prospects, not older role players. He would only be good to trade in a fire sale, but like I said - we're WINNING now - trading him would be accomplishing nothing really, and only make us worse.

Re: Is it plausible for us to trade Hernandez this season?

To me a trade can't be ruled out, if Ramon say could be packaged with other reds players to upgrade say our LF situation or even our SS or 3rd situation you have to at least consider it. Saying you won't trade him is just plain poor baseball mang't.

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